The Grim Reaper comes with Spring

The house in which we resided from 2008 to 2018 on the campus of Tainan Theological College was about 40 years old when we moved in. Taiwan’s frequent earthquakes met the house’s brick and concrete construction, resulting in enough cracks to give ants a strong hold long before we arrived. We achieved a livable stasis with them.

  Over the decades the house grew. It acquired a sheet-metal shed along one side (providing storage for gardening tools and paint cans) and a carport out back (unnecessary when the building was erected) giving us a dry place to keep our wheeled conveyances.The shed was unlit. Nighttime access required use of a flashlight was. We occasionally heard the squeaks of vermin emanating from therein. But if they didn’t come into the house, that was all right with us.

Winter in Michigan presents a house-hunting challenge to small animal life here. Birds fly south and squirrels find hollow trees. Field mice found our garage. For some reason, I noticed a couple scurrying across the floor there from under the lawn mower which saw no action after late October.  On April 30th the back lawn appeared to be ready for the first of what will be weekly trims for the foreseeable future. I rolled the mower out and hit the button to start it (it’s an electric one) and pushed it onto the lawn. On my next pass around the area, I espied the corpse of a mouse who had his (or her) final surprise when mechanical things sprang to life. 

The lawn is now trimmed, but that cost something its life. 

David Alexander now resides in Holland, MI after 39 years in Taiwan.